February 15–22, 2001

movie shorts

Sweet November

In Sweet November, Charlize Theron is adorable, free-spirited, quirky and living a kind of bohemian life from her San Francisco apartment. She takes in strays (dogs and men), nursing them back to physical or emotional health before sending them on their way. Keanu Reeves is a wooden sort, unable to commit emotionally and suffering mightily for his vapidness. Where Theron is gorgeous, passionate and oh yes, dying of a terrible disease (like Winona Ryder in Autumn in New York), Reeves is a go-getter advertising exec in need of a life-change (like Nicolas Cage in The Family Man). When these two misfits meet, can True Love be far behind? Pat O’Connor’s film goes through the motions, with romantic scenes on the beach and in outdoor marketplaces, and sad scenes in which Theron plays noble and selfless. He’s a better man because of his love for this dying quirky girl, who is, after all, just a means to that end.

—Cindy Fuchs